chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

178 LASKER
ganes played agaiNt sr^UN1oN, atBerlin in 1844
and at Brusscls in l!63; and flre Ches Plny*,29
Nov. 1851, published a reporl fron Gernanr tbat
L.sa Nas pldying a senes oI games against
aNDnBssrN and was leading by ten Sanes to five.
The main obstacle to his participanon in orgdized
chess elenls Nas his career. althouAh he 6aybave
prefeted hendly play. He was posled arou.d
Europe and to Brazn, and perhaps his most
dimcull appoinlinenl was thal ot Prussian Anba}
sador at Copenhasen immediately atler ihe Ger
marDanish war. His traveh gavc him the opportunity
to examine rare manosnpts and books. ed
in 1887, seven years aller his redrene.t, he
travelled a.ound the wond. i.cluding lndia and
Australia, addingto hischess libraryi his collection
oI about 2,300tirles, otre of the best ol the period,
remains intaci. He contnbuted nany excelienl
articlcs tochc$periodicals formore than40yeas.
The mosr imporrantol his books is zul Geshlchte
md Literatw des SchaclLviels (189?), vhich h slill
perhaps the clea.esr accoutrr of rhe Bames developncnt
in Europe lron nedieval tines.
LASKDR, EDWARD 0885 1981), Geman-born
Ameri.an player and author, l nte rna tiodal Maste r
(1963), International Arbitcr (1956), ensineer.
Atter wiming several national tou.naments in ihe
USA Laskcr challensed Ma(hall for rhe US
Chanpionship. A match ol 18 games tookplace in
1923 and Lasker lost narowly (+4=9-5). In r9l1
he wrore S.r".hr,/akgic. an English veBioo,
Cnarr ,Sta,egr, appeari.g in 1915. For &e 6rsr tine
a conpelent tea.hing melhod was used loexplain
the whole gane, and, revised lron time to tnne,
th€ book rcmained popular ior m.ny years.
LASKER, EMANUEL (1868 1941), Geman
player of Jewish birth, World Chanpion 1894-
1921. He s6bo.n in Berlinchen (novBaninck) in
BraodenburS Nhere his lather held a ninor post in
the synagogue, While on a visit to Berlin {ben be
was eleven yea6 old his elder broth$ Bc,thold
taught him the noves ofchess, andEmanuel was
innediarely lascinated by ihe gane. He was sent
avay to schml. whcrc hc showed a remarkable
talenl lormathenaiis, andafterpdsinghisschool
exaoina(ons he relumed lo Berlin in March 1888.
Dividing his lime betveen unilesity studies and
.hess, he improvcd so much at thc gamc that hc
gained lhe German master title in the HAUnur-
NE* at Breslau 1889. Back in Berlin he defeated
8aRDEr-EUEN(+2:1 1)andM,Es6(+5=3)anda1
Londotr in 1890 he deleated B'RD (+?=3-2). His
list importani toutuanent success was in a small
bul strong evenl at London 1812, list pnze
(+5:3) halfa point ahcad otBLACKBUnNE. Tl'ese
two thetr played a march. and when Laster son
decisively (+6=4) be began b rhink of the
possibiliry of beconing world champion. He
challenBed rNus.H who declined to play. suegesting
thar Lasker should 6st win a major
tournamcnl. Laster then iook rhe bold step oI
Eoine to the USA qhere he might meet the title
holde. s r rrNru. Withi. two years, during qhich his
suc@$es included ihe defeat of thc Anerican
championsEowALrER(+6-1 2),hesu€eededin
obtaining a match with Steinilz. He emerged
viclonous (+10=4-5) in May 1894. bul lhe ches
wo.ldwasnotundulyimpressedwithhisdelealof a
,nan 32 yeas his senior: he had yet ro prove
hinself. Th e wo rld's gre atcst players competed ar
HasdnS! 1895 where Lasker took third placc
(+14=3 1)ailerprLsBURyand.Hrco*Naheador
Tarrasch and Steinitz. Lasker's chess was still
improving a.d he esiablished beyond douht his
position .s the world s besr player by Ninnine foBr
sDcce$ivc ,najor tolrnlnenrs: s1 Perersburg
189tu. a lourmaster malch lournament
(+8:7 3) ahead ol Slei.iiz, Pillsbury. and Cbigori.;
Nuremberg 1896 (+12-3 3) ahead of
MAR6czy, Pillsbury, Tarrasch- Steinilz, and Chi
sonni London 1899(+18=?-r) 4lpotuts aheadof
rANowsK, Mar6czy, and Pillsbu.y Nho shared
second pnzer and Pans 1900 (+14=1 1)aheadol
Pil,sbnry and Mar6cry. Duridg this period he
defeared Steinitz in a rcrur. malct 189G7
(+10=5 2). Nor had he nesleded his marhcmatics,
rvo yeas ar HeidelbergUnivesity 189? 9,a
thesis prescnted al Edang€n University in 1900.
and he gained hh doctoratc.
Alter nearly four years Nithour hard tracticc hc
enloed Canhridge Spridgs 1904 and camesecond
(+9:,1-2) cqual Nilh Ja.ovski_ lvo pdints airer
MA$!^LL. For ihe trexr lcv yearc Laskerseuled in
lhe Unired States, and dunng thh period nc was
challenged b! bo$ Tarasch and Mar6czt, two ol
his strongest thrce ,i,als, bur ncgoiations brot{e
doM. (His otber rival, Pilhbury, a si.k man nr
1904, died in 1906.) In 1907 Lasker played a
cha,npionship natch againsr Marshall, victor of
cambridse springs, and son easily (+8=7).
Betuining lo Gemany i. 1908 he played and
defeated Tarach (+8=5 :l).
AtSlPetc6burg 1909 Laskerand RUBTNSTETN set
a crackiog pace aad scor.d +13=3 2 and
+12=5 1 respectiveiy to share lirsl ptacc. lhc
thnd pri2c winneG DUrAs nnd sprEruNN Bere 3i
points behind. Later tnat vcar l-lsher plnved rwo
elhibnion natches aeainst Janowski. drawing lhe
n$t (+2 2) ind winnins rhe second (+7=2-l).
and early in l9l0 he mel Schlechter in a march ol
tenganes. A hard-loughtslrugglc cnded in a draw
(+1=8 1), the arbiler declanne thal Laskcr sas
siill.hampion. (For an accorDt of the natch see
scHLEcHraR.) A lcw months later r-asker deierred
Janowski (+8=3), his ihnd championship match
viclory (or lourth if the Schlechter match is
included) in a four year period. Subsequedtll be
was challenged by both .APAB'-AN.A and Rubin
srein,bisclosestnvals.bulno matcheslouowcd. In
191I Laskcr mrried Mrrlh, (l)hn rhe vidov of
an indnsl.ialisr. He sained finlncial secunry, bul
bis sense of duty p.evented his bccoming a 6ere
dependent.nd he continued to ea.n good moncy
from chcss. His next roum.nent was St Petersbu.g